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what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> forces step up their attacks against the rebels in libya. america insists any decision to impose a no-fly zone should be made by the united nations. the bombardment continues as more air attacks. ivory coast hundreds of thousands flee the fighting over last year's disputed elections. welcome to bbc news. accused of trading on a legal tip-off, now the biggest insider trading trial in u.s. history. police investigate an organized crime syndicate that operated

around the world. hello there as forces step up offenses against rebel areas, president obama's top national security advisors meet to outline what steps are realistic. washington as underscored any authorization of a no-fly zone must come from a united nation security council. >> colnel kadafi presented a front since the rebellion in his country began and more

evidence of the fighting that split libya. these pictures show the situation a few days ago. government troops showing off flashes of what they claim is rebel held a&m mission. rebel forces say the situation in the city is very critical with fierce battles taking place. >> i don't think we can stand aside to let that happen. >> this british approach is something one prominent american politician has welcomed. >> a no-fly zone account be imposed fairly easily, not without challenges, but i would also point out that the air assets that gadhafi has is in a

small space. a no-fly zone is what the people of libya are pleading for. >> i shall put the draft resolution to the vote now. >> the u.n. security council issued sanctions against gadhafi and his family and entourage. now britain and france want to go further, but cautiously. persuading the americans may be hard. >> there is an international effort going on. we believe it is important that it not be an american ornateo or european effort but a national one. there is still a lot of opposition. >> persuading the other members will be harder still. >> forces loyal to colnel gadhafi have bombarded all days with tanks and artill rarey

fire, a city reduced to ashes. a main hospital overwhelmed with casualties, also being hit repeatedly from the air. john simpson and duncan stone are there. >> this is the heart of the defenses, a number of anti-aircraft guns grouped close together but capable of putting up fierce fire into the air and at ground level. we got here just after one bomb landed close besides the road. it cut the water supply to the town, something that could soon cause problems for the defender in the next few days. this is the battlefield that could decide the way the entire war is going. further in that direction are colnel gadhafi's troops.

>> but today much of the action was from the air. four times progadhafi planes bombed the crossroads. the explosions are very close. the planes coming around bombing again, the bomb landed just on the other side of the road. now he is coming in again. that time the blast from the bomb knocked a member of our team to the ground, but he wasn't hurt. soon though the weather closed in, colnel gadhafi's pilots don't like flying low because they are vulnerable to ground

fire. this volunteer explained that there are no senior officers here, but plenty of individuals giving orders. but for better or worse most of the volunteers are full of fight and so far they are still holding their own. john simpson, bbc news. >> the bbc is in the capital. a little while aago jeremy spoke to my colleague. >> is it fair to say brute force and gadhafi are prevailing now. >> brute force and clever political calculations and technical considerations on the ground as well. i think colnel gadhafi's people are getting the upper hand here about 30 miles from where i am.

i can't go there freely because we are not allowed to. but we are hearing the resistance of the rebels appears to be failing in an attack by gadhafi's people. 50 tanks, children among the dead. one man saying it has been reduced to ashes. >> any way the rebels survive without significant outside help? >> i think the further away they are from the gadhafi stronghold the better chance they have. but they are not organized, don't have much in the way of weapons, don't have an air force and the heavy weapons the gadhafi people do. even though gadhafi's forces are not that strong compared to some countries, the fact is that they are stronger. you have seen these pictures of guys trying to advance down the road in pickup trucks, full of

spirit but not technical and strategic calculations. looks like long-term if they don't get help from abroad they will be in big trouble. >> our correspondent in washington says there is no decision regarding international vention. >> under sanctions, assets have been frozen and this type of thing but nothing militarily that will really affect him. as we are hearing it appears there are signs he is gaining ground in some parts of the country. there are more voices calling for a no-fly zone but the same situation exists in terms of support. russia and china at the security council wouldn't support it. united states made it clear that it only wants to go for a no-fly zone if it can get a

u.n. resolution. and the u.s. is saying it does not want to do it alone. most people believe it could do it but there is not the political will despite support in the u.s. for it to go for that. >> president obama spoke about a number of options on the table as did the british prime minister. what other options are they considering, given the fact that today we heard voices from the arab community calling for this no-fly zone? >> there are not that many other options that will really turn the screw on colnel gadhafi. we have heard so much opposition from key people like the u.s. defense secretary talking about loose talk over the idea of a no fly zone, not very keen to do it and plenty others within the military concerned about the possibility that if the u.s. gets involved

than it would broaden out into a much bigger operation and the u.s. will be involved militaryy in the meevelt. there is a lot of reluctance, even though there are some voices, senator mccain called for that no fly zone but it is not clear if it will tip the balance to force the administration to go all of the way. you could argue the obama administration has made life hard on itself because it openly called for colnel gadhafi to go. it did not do that in egypt and that raised expectations that they would take tougher action. >> we will have reaction from the u.n. in about 10 minutes time. the world's biggest oil producer, saudi arabia, said wells and supplies are enough to meet the demand. some estimates suggest libya output has stopped in half.

speculation is sending oil prices up rather than any shortfall in supply. in yemen firing rubber bullets and teargas. doctors say 10 were injured, five of them seriously. the pakistani taliban say they carried out the car bomb that kill 20d and wounded 120 in eastern pakistan. bomb exploded at a natural gas station. united nations says hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee the fighting. over the past three months 300,000 have left their home, more than 70,000 in the west. winner of last year's election, but his rival is still refusing

to leave office. sources have opened up fire on civilians killing at least four people, hundreds taking to the streets protesting the killing of seven women marchers. >> groups of women gathering in crowds like this at a time the ivory coast is splipping closer to civil war. we are in an area loyal to the man that won last year's election. they are condemning last week's killing of seven women in a demonstration not unlike this. forces loyal to the man who lost the presidential election who opened fire on the women. the atmosphere is fairly upbeat and relaxed but this is a

country that feels -- >> you are watching bbc news. still to come, human rights campaigners saying keeping guantaunmo open leaves inmates in a worse position than ever. the former iranian president, one of the architects of the islamic republic lost his position. our iran correspondent, james reynolds, reports from london. >> he is one of the great survivors of iranian politics but even survivors have their bad days. this morning he gave up his job as head of the assembly of experts, a body that picks iran's supreme leader. experts concluded he is not conservative enough for their

tastes. >> i will definitely not become a candidate for presidency of the assembly. must remove the differences to avoid harming this sacred body. >> this is the man that takes over. he is 79 years old. it is hard to count him as a fresh face at the top. his election is seen as a victory for hard-liners in the establishment. he has made his way through almost every important position in iran since the revolution, including eight years as president but never been hugely popular. he made plenty of money and most iranians have not. he now has to decide what to do next. >> he can either stay within the establishment, take a minor role. accept that he has been defeated, possibly retire and keep quiet or become more vocal and move towards the

opposition. >> and that opposition fighting to be heard. in february demonstrators held their biggest protest in more than a year wanting fundamental change in iran. they may be reluctant to accept a 76-year-old former president as a standard bearer. >> you are watching bbc news. good to have you with us. the headlines at this hour. colnel gadhafi's forces step up against rebel held areas in libya. u.s. says any decision to impose a no fly zone should be made by the united nations. rebels forced another onslaught as gadhafi's forces release more attacks. more details on the united about the decision of a no fly zone. our u.n. correspond cent in new york for us.

>> the security council talked about a no fly zone but only generally as part of a broader talk. the emphasis is very much on contingency planning so we can move quickly if the need arise. we have to see if the increase in fighting and the government bombardment will have any impact on views here. at the moment we can expect opposition if the resolution gets to the security council. on the one hand you have countries opposed to any military intervention and the russians made themselves quite clear. on the other hand you know countries that are aware of backing one side of a civil war that could look like they are supporting regime change. there are african states that are quite weary about that. and even those countries that have been most aggressive about exploring the options of a no fly zone, such as britain and

france and to a lesser degree, united states , are cautious. strong support from the region. i think probably we are likely to see the security council members will be watching upcoming meetings of nato and the european union and of the arab league and taking their cues to some degree from them. >> human rights campaigners say president obama's decision to backtrack on his promise to close the guantaunmo camp in cuba leaves inmates in a worse position than ever. peter taylor has been given rare and extensive access to film inside guantaunmo bay. here is his special report. >> within days of taking office president obama promised to close guantaunmo and with it a chapter of american history.

>> the process whereby guantaunmo will be closed no later than one year from now. >> but more than two years later there are around 170 detainees held without trial, many al qaeda's hardcore. some have been ill treated in the past. we were only allowed to film a few and forbidden to show their faces. >> well, we have been with these guys for nine years. we know who we picked off the battlefield. we know what type of guys they are as far as compliant and not compliant. just because they are compliant does not mean their ideology has not changed. they want to kill our guards and want to disrupt our organization. they are still in the fight. >> president obama pledged to try many of the detainees in civilian courts in america but

proved almost impossible. much of the evidence obtained through torture and ill treatment is likely to be thrown out. half the remains detainees have been cleared for release but their countries don't want to take them back. some that have been released have already rejoined guantaunmo. >> we said it is to preserve our way of life and the first thing we jettisoned was the role of law. now large numbers of people despise us who used to feel sympathy for us. >> after two years in office president obama has been unable to fulfill his promise to close guantaunmo. it may be when the president seeks re-election his promise may remain unfulfilled. peter taylor, bbc news. >> one of the biggest

investigations to hit wall street is the biggest insider trading trial in history. he is accused of making $45 million by trading on illegal tip-offs. secret information came from executives at a list of firms including intel and ibm. >> are you going to testify in your defense? >> he was ready to clear his name. he is acudesed of making money trading on private information about companies, charges that he denied. >> they asked perspective juror fist they read, seen or heard anything about this case. he was well known in financial circles but little known outside. >> it is a major insider

trading case that will set the bar for the private sector and the government of what is legal and illegal. >> new york securities lawyer believes the odds are against him. >> the head guy, raj, could go to jail for decades if he is convicted. everybody underneath him that turns states evidence and will testify against him. he has a very difficult case. >> and the government has another big name on their witness list, the chief executive of goldman sachs. his testimony will establish the responsibilities of a former director acudesed of passing on tips. a former wall street analyst expressed surprise to see so many members of wall street's elite caught up in the scandal. >> i am certainly shocked by

the fact that a goldman board member has been acudesed of picking up the phones second after a board call and calling a hedge fund. that is a blatant violation of everything the firm stands for. a junior trainee would understand how horrifying it is. >> over the next eight weeks or so jurors will hear how he went about his business. and with the government's attempts to crackdown on insider trading are working. >> dozens of people were rounded up in a major police operation against one of italy's organized crime groups, now considered more powerful than the mafia and one of the biggest cocaine traffickers.

it is a significant blow. >> this was a big police operation conducted in darkness and with enough manpower to overwhelm any resistance. teams of offi southern italy and near rome. this was a hunt not only for senior level gang members but to any of their merchandise like drugs and guns. every premises searched in the quest for evidence. at this house police found a secret hiding place behind a bookshelf big enough to conceal a man. where one boss hoped to evade capture. more than 30 mobsters were picked up and others were detained in germany, a sign of the extensive foreign interest

now pursued. >> it is a strongly cohesive organization whose upper echelon is different than typical structures. its reach is more extensive, perhaps not worldwide but certainly across many continents. >> they emerged in the middle 1970's though the origins can be traced back to the 19th century when they surfaced in the aftermath of italian unification. they have links with the colombian drug cartels. cocaine is thought to be the biggest source of revenue. estimated the annual income at more than 35 billion euros. what makes them bigger than italy's biggest company, fiat. it is a mainland power house of organized crime to rival or

surpass others. that is why the italian government is marshaling so many resources against it. >> police say these men are the backbone of the secretive world. with so much money at stake there is always a ready supply of volunteers when the ranks are depleted by these organizations. the state's pressure is growing and mobs like this no longer thrive without consequences. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in rome. >> prince william will travel to new zealand and australia to visit areas devastated by recent natural si safters without his fiancé to attend a memorial service for those who died in last month's earthquake and will visit areas hit by the serious flooding. you are watching bbc news.

stay with us. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its

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